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Description
Kate ran.

Her feet pounded on the cobblestones as she tore down the alleyway, each footfall echoing wildly around her. She risked a look back over her shoulder, stumbling as she twisted. Hazy orange streetlights filtered around the corner, but there was no sign of persuit.

Heart pounding and lungs heaving, she burst from the dark of the alley into the light of the street, stopping as her eyes adjusted to the wall of people in front of her. She almost clattered into an eldery couple, buried beneath thick coats and woolly hats, who tutted at her as they passed.

She looked left and right, wiping tears from her eyes. She stood on a narrow street lined on each side with small gothic houses, fronted by dark metal railings. A crowd shuffled down the street, seeming to glow under the orange lights.

Safety in numbers, thought Kate.

Still gasping for breath, she looked back down the alley. A shadow moved in the gloom. Her stomach tightened as – for a half a second – she caught a glimpse of yellow eyes staring right at her.  Then they faded, and the shadow slid smoothly up the wall and was lost in darkness.

Kate urgently joined the crowd, trying to push through the throng of people. The acrid tang of smoke filled her nostrils. A huge bang erupted over her right shoulder. People screamed and cheered at the sound, but Kate barely noticed save for the ringing in her ears.

It was festival night in Lewes. Every November, parades walked down the streets of the Sussex town carrying flaming torches and brands, towing carts full of leaping, spitting flames. Crowds of onlookers, often drunk and rowdy, lined the streets to view the spectacle – letting off bangers and revelling in the chaos. For one night a year, the very streets of Lewes burned in a festival of fire as if they were rivers of flame.

Kate filtered through the crowd, her breath finally calming, and collapsed on a set of steps leading to someone's front door. She had been just one of the thousands of spectators  at the festival. Her and her college friends had walked the streets, drinking alco-pops and laughing uproariously – shrieking like children at every bang. Now, she sat on the cold stone step, alone. She checked her phone – still no signal.

The gutter at her feet was lined with rubbish and burned-out torches,  the dead wood still smoking. A parade had passed this way already, weaving its way around the town before heading to Malling Brooks and the huge bonfire that waited to be lit by their torches. She wondered if her friends were also lying in the gutters now, charred and maimed. She drew a deep breath of freezing cold air – burning against her raw throat – and tried to steady the wave of panic building from her stomach.

Her reverie was interrupted by a scream from the crowd. Unlike the many cries that pierced the evening, this one was not accompanied by a bang. It grew in volume, was taken up by others. It grew into a roar, a hubbub of fear billowing out from the alleyway Kate had just left. The crowd slowed, turned to see the source of the commotion.

Kate was rising to her feet long before she saw the crowd begin to part. Something was coming through. She looked around her doorway, desperately seeking somewhere to run. She'd never be able to worm her way through the crowd. She looked up at the high wall which lead away from the house, parallel with the street.

With an agility she hadn't realised she possessed, Kate hoisted herself up onto the iron railings, using a heavy iron doorknob as leverage. She balanced uncertainly, leaning against the house with one arm. The wall was too high to step up to – she'd need to jump and hope she could pull herself over with her arms. She took a breath and tried to plan the movement.

Her hesitation ended as a fresh scream erupted behind her. She looked around to see a hulking, gorilla-like creature leaning over a man, pinning his arms to the ground. Smooth black skin covered its body – it was like a shadow given form. It raised its huge, horned head and directed its yellow-eyed gaze right at Kate.

Before she could think, Kate pushed away from the railing, launching herself at the wall. Her chest crashed into it and her arms gratefully reached over the top. Somehow, her movements driven by fear, she used the momentum from her leap to swing her leg up and above the wall. She pulled herself over and lowered herself down the other side, landing heavily. Her chest and arms were raw – but she'd made it.

She found herself in a dark garden – spiny, shadowy shapes loomed out of the dark towards her. She pulled herself to her feet and forced herself to keep moving, glancing back toward the wall as she moved.

She didn't understand what chased her, nor why. She didn't know how long she'd been running – maybe ten minutes, maybe an hour. But the thing was unrelenting, always one step behind her. She pulled her arms around herself, suddenly aware of the cold of the night. The sweat lining her back seemed to freeze against her skin. She shivered.

There was a gate at the back of the garden. Opening it, Kate found herself in another dark alleyway. A burned-out torch smoked listlessly on the floor nearby. The distant sounds of explosions and crowds echoed around her. She tugged a hood over her head and crept down the street, rubbing her aching arms.

The alley bent around a corner and onto a street once more, blazing with fire and light, raucous with the shouts and bangs of a parade. Kate shouldered her way through the bodies to the front of the crowd and watched the fiery procession pass by. Adults and children alike, in striped outfits, carried burning torches aloft as they passed. The heat was intense, and Kate indulged in its radience for a moment. She closed her eyes and held her hands out to the warmth.

Another bang went off, startling Kate half out of her skin. Her ears rung from the sound and a wave of dizziness washed over her. It must have gone off right at her feet. She leaned back into the crowd, covering her face. Hands grabbed at her shoulders. Someone spoke in her ear. The world faded away to distant voices and darkness – for a moment, Kate felt like she was falling sideways - before the sounds of the street began to filter in again: footsteps and shouts and crackling flames.

She opened her eyes wearily, staring into the parade. It had stopped right by her, the marchers looking around impatiently.

"Are you alright, love?" a voice said from behind her. She nodded in response and looked around to regain her bearings. Her breath tightened in her chest when she saw it: up there on the rooftops, hazy against the heat of the flames, stood a shadow. It prowled the rooftop, its hulking, ape-like shape striding restlessly across the tiles. Its movements were swift, pensive.

It's looking for me, she thought. Oh God, it's looking for me.

Description
Kate ran.

Her feet pounded on the cobblestones as she tore down the alleyway, each footfall echoing wildly around her. She risked a look back over her shoulder, stumbling as she twisted. Hazy orange streetlights filtered around the corner, but there was no sign of persuit.

Heart pounding and lungs heaving, she burst from the dark of the alley into the light of the street, stopping as her eyes adjusted to the wall of people in front of her. She almost clattered into an eldery couple, buried beneath thick coats and woolly hats, who tutted at her as they passed.

She looked left and right, wiping tears from her eyes. She stood on a narrow street lined on each side with small gothic houses, fronted by dark metal railings. A crowd shuffled down the street, seeming to glow under the orange lights.

Safety in numbers, thought Kate.

Still gasping for breath, she looked back down the alley. A shadow moved in the gloom. Her stomach tightened as – for a half a second – she caught a glimpse of yellow eyes staring right at her.  Then they faded, and the shadow slid smoothly up the wall and was lost in darkness.

Kate urgently joined the crowd, trying to push through the throng of people. The acrid tang of smoke filled her nostrils. A huge bang erupted over her right shoulder. People screamed and cheered at the sound, but Kate barely noticed save for the ringing in her ears.

It was festival night in Lewes. Every November, parades walked down the streets of the Sussex town carrying flaming torches and brands, towing carts full of leaping, spitting flames. Crowds of onlookers, often drunk and rowdy, lined the streets to view the spectacle – letting off bangers and revelling in the chaos. For one night a year, the very streets of Lewes burned in a festival of fire as if they were rivers of flame.

Kate filtered through the crowd, her breath finally calming, and collapsed on a set of steps leading to someone's front door. She had been just one of the thousands of spectators  at the festival. Her and her college friends had walked the streets, drinking alco-pops and laughing uproariously – shrieking like children at every bang. Now, she sat on the cold stone step, alone. She checked her phone – still no signal.

The gutter at her feet was lined with rubbish and burned-out torches,  the dead wood still smoking. A parade had passed this way already, weaving its way around the town before heading to Malling Brooks and the huge bonfire that waited to be lit by their torches. She wondered if her friends were also lying in the gutters now, charred and maimed. She drew a deep breath of freezing cold air – burning against her raw throat – and tried to steady the wave of panic building from her stomach.

Her reverie was interrupted by a scream from the crowd. Unlike the many cries that pierced the evening, this one was not accompanied by a bang. It grew in volume, was taken up by others. It grew into a roar, a hubbub of fear billowing out from the alleyway Kate had just left. The crowd slowed, turned to see the source of the commotion.

Kate was rising to her feet long before she saw the crowd begin to part. Something was coming through. She looked around her doorway, desperately seeking somewhere to run. She'd never be able to worm her way through the crowd. She looked up at the high wall which lead away from the house, parallel with the street.

With an agility she hadn't realised she possessed, Kate hoisted herself up onto the iron railings, using a heavy iron doorknob as leverage. She balanced uncertainly, leaning against the house with one arm. The wall was too high to step up to – she'd need to jump and hope she could pull herself over with her arms. She took a breath and tried to plan the movement.

Her hesitation ended as a fresh scream erupted behind her. She looked around to see a hulking, gorilla-like creature leaning over a man, pinning his arms to the ground. Smooth black skin covered its body – it was like a shadow given form. It raised its huge, horned head and directed its yellow-eyed gaze right at Kate.

Before she could think, Kate pushed away from the railing, launching herself at the wall. Her chest crashed into it and her arms gratefully reached over the top. Somehow, her movements driven by fear, she used the momentum from her leap to swing her leg up and above the wall. She pulled herself over and lowered herself down the other side, landing heavily. Her chest and arms were raw – but she'd made it.

She found herself in a dark garden – spiny, shadowy shapes loomed out of the dark towards her. She pulled herself to her feet and forced herself to keep moving, glancing back toward the wall as she moved.

She didn't understand what chased her, nor why. She didn't know how long she'd been running – maybe ten minutes, maybe an hour. But the thing was unrelenting, always one step behind her. She pulled her arms around herself, suddenly aware of the cold of the night. The sweat lining her back seemed to freeze against her skin. She shivered.

There was a gate at the back of the garden. Opening it, Kate found herself in another dark alleyway. A burned-out torch smoked listlessly on the floor nearby. The distant sounds of explosions and crowds echoed around her. She tugged a hood over her head and crept down the street, rubbing her aching arms.

The alley bent around a corner and onto a street once more, blazing with fire and light, raucous with the shouts and bangs of a parade. Kate shouldered her way through the bodies to the front of the crowd and watched the fiery procession pass by. Adults and children alike, in striped outfits, carried burning torches aloft as they passed. The heat was intense, and Kate indulged in its radience for a moment. She closed her eyes and held her hands out to the warmth.

Another bang went off, startling Kate half out of her skin. Her ears rung from the sound and a wave of dizziness washed over her. It must have gone off right at her feet. She leaned back into the crowd, covering her face. Hands grabbed at her shoulders. Someone spoke in her ear. The world faded away to distant voices and darkness – for a moment, Kate felt like she was falling sideways - before the sounds of the street began to filter in again: footsteps and shouts and crackling flames.

She opened her eyes wearily, staring into the parade. It had stopped right by her, the marchers looking around impatiently.

"Are you alright, love?" a voice said from behind her. She nodded in response and looked around to regain her bearings. Her breath tightened in her chest when she saw it: up there on the rooftops, hazy against the heat of the flames, stood a shadow. It prowled the rooftop, its hulking, ape-like shape striding restlessly across the tiles. Its movements were swift, pensive.

It's looking for me, she thought. Oh God, it's looking for me.